Swinburne University’s National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) members have voted overwhelmingly to go on strike for half a day on Wednesday next week.
The decision comes after university management’s proposal to remove over 140 rights and conditions from the enterprise agreement. Management have also proposed removing the path for casual staff to convert to permanent positions.
Some of the basic protections Swinburne management are attempting to remove include caps on workloads, academic freedom, and protections against bullying.
This is the first time staff at Swinburne are going on strike since 2013. Along with their current stance, Swinburne management has been historically oppositional to staff, calling on staff and students to cross picket lines during the 2013 strikes.
In 2020, 98% of Swinburne staff passed a vote of no confidence for Vice Chancellor Professor Pascale Quester. Quester brought in hundreds of forced redundancies, taking on millions of debt to do so. Quester’s contract was recently extended by 5 years, until 2030, with a salary over $1 million.
On the recent enterprise agreement proposal, NTEU National President Dr Alison Barnes said, “Swinburne’s plan is one of the most extreme attacks on working conditions I have ever seen at a university.”
“The Vice-Chancellor’s disregard for staff is palpable. She brushed off as propaganda work stress surveys that show staff are at breaking point,” said NTEU Swinburne Branch President Dr Julie Kimber.
NTEU Victoria has said they have not seen Quester at any of the 22 bargaining meetings.
